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“Well,” he said, “before I overheard you moaning and groaning about needing a fiancé, I didn’t have a plan. But now it occurs to me that if I wasn’t available, Brandee and the rest of ’em might take the hint.”
“What happens when she realizes your new love isn’t exactly on the up and up?”
He smiled. “You know Brandee. By then, she’ll have moved on to someone better.”
Katy did, indeed, know Brandee. Which meant she also knew he was right on in his assessment of the beauteous blonde. Brandee didn’t have a mean bone in her body but she could be very tunnel-visioned—and she liked men. A lot. “How long do you need this fictional sweetheart?” Katy wanted to know.
“I dunno, not too long. A few months? You?”
“A few months,” she agreed. “Until my birthday, for sure.”
He nodded. “October twenty-fifth.”
She gaped. “You remember my birthday?”
“Why not? I went to enough of your stupid birthday parties growing up.” He made a face. “The only thing that made it bearable was that your mother always baked a good cake.”
“Yeah, and she’s the one who made me invite you. She always liked ‘that nice Cole boy.’ Which proves she didn’t really know you.”
Dylan grinned. “Your mom likes me? That’s great. I need all the fans I can get.” His expression grew cautious. “So what do you think?”
“Give me a minute to think about this.” Eyeing him warily, she wondered if there was any way they might get along for more than five minutes, even with so much at stake. Certainly he was not bad looking—handsome, according to many. Owner of the Bear Claw Ranch west of town, he was popular with men and sought after by women, one of whom had caught him; he’d been married and divorced.
But could they make such a charade work? Unfortunately, Katy was desperate enough to find out….
“Okay,” she said, “we might as well give it a try. What do we have to lose?”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “Nothing except our lives.”
“We’ll have to get a lot of things straight first,” she warned. “For example, how will we ever convince anyone we’re a couple?”
He grinned. “I’ve got a tougher question than that. How will we ever convince anyone that a dyed-in-the-wool career woman like you even wants to get married?”
“Why, of all the nerve!” She practically sputtered in her outrage. “Of course, I want to get married! What makes you think—”
Laura waved her hands for order. “Hold it, you two. This is no place to work out the details.”
Katy glanced around, saw several pairs of eyes watching, and groaned. “You’re right. Where—?”
“My house.”
Dylan blinked. “ Your house, Laura?”
She nodded. “For dinner tomorrow night at six—the kids need to eat early, and then we—I mean you can work out all the details without an audience.”
Dylan made a face. “Matt will really get a kick out of this.”
“Quit grumbling,” Katy snapped. “We’ll be there, Laura.”
“Speak for yourself,” Dylan flared.
“Okay, the floor is yours.” She slumped back in her chair peevishly.
“We’ll be there, Laura,” he said, as if this were new information. “Now if you ladies will excuse me—” Lifting his hat from the table and clapping it on his head, he rose and strode toward the door.
Katy stared after him until he’d disappeared outside. Then she groaned. “Laura, what have I done?”
“Everything you can to make your grandmother happy. Remember that, Katy.”
As if she could forget. There was no other reason in the world she’d deliberately subject herself to the company of Dylan Cole.
Dinner with the Reynolds family was curiously awkward.
Katy couldn’t quite figure out why. Matt and Laura were her dearest friends, and she adored their talkative children. And although she didn’t put Dylan into those exalted categories, she was, at least, accustomed to him.
Maybe it was just the strain of trying not to fight with him.
Whatever it was, he seemed to be feeling the pressure, too. In fact, he looked entirely ready to grab his hat and run out the door at the slightest provocation.
“So,” Matt said, lifting another piece of Laura’s good fried chicken off the platter, “what do you two think about the new gasoline station going up on the west side of town?”
“I think it’s a crime,” Dylan said swiftly, right over Katy’s, “I think it’s high time!”
They looked at each other across the table, frowning.
Katy said, “If you lived over there, you wouldn’t be so quick to condemn. I have to drive halfway across town now to fill up my car.”
“And if you had any concern for the environment and runaway growth, you wouldn’t mind driving a couple of blocks further,” he shot back. “That’s what’s wrong with people today. All they think about is themselves.”
“Why, of all the cotton-headed approaches to urban planning—”
“Not to mention overpopulation. If we don’t do something to stop it, Colorado’s going to turn into another California. Why, just the other day—”
“Excuse me.” Laura gave them a warning glance. “Can you hold off on that until the kids are excused?”
Ten-year-old Jessica, seated beside Katy, grinned. “I don’t want to be excused. I think it’s fun to hear Aunt Katy and Uncle Dylan fight.”
Laura rolled her eyes. “ Fighting is not fun. How about I give you kids an ice cream bar for dessert and you can eat it outside while the grownups talk?”
“She means ‘fight,”’ Jessica confided to seven-year-old Zach, who was listening with wide eyes. “Sure, Mom. We know when someone wants to get rid of us.”
Once the kids were through the door, Matt chuckled. “When Laura told me what you two are up to, I told her it would never work. Was I right?” He looked lovingly at his wife, who sighed.
Katy felt duty-bound to defend her friend’s faith in her. “Look, if Dylan and I want to make it work, it’ll work.”
The gentleman in question raised his brows. “ Do we want to make it work?”
She let out her breath on a gust of displeasure. “If you’re going to take that attitude…no.”
“Katy!” Laura exclaimed. “I thought your mother and grandmother—”
“I’d do it for them if I could, but I don’t really see any way.” Katy shook her head in disgust.
Laura turned to Dylan. “And what about Brandee Haycox?”
Matt bolted upright in his chair. “Brandee’s after you now? Dylan, why didn’t you tell me?” He began to laugh.
“I didn’t tell you because I knew this would be your reaction.” The corners of Dylan’s attractive mouth curved down. “And because I knew you wouldn’t have any tips on how to dislodge her.”
“Oops.” Matt glanced at his wife. He’d been Brandee’s target once himself, before he and Laura got together.
Laura frowned. “I just don’t get it,” she complained. “You’re two of my favorite people and—”
“Since when?” Katy shot a challenging glance at Dylan. “I never thought you liked that guy.”
Laura laughed. “I didn’t—and I didn’t like this guy, either.” She touched her husband’s arm tenderly. “Which all goes to show you that things aren’t always what they seem.”
Katy rolled her eyes. “Skim milk masquerades as cream,” she agreed, “but I’ve never heard of cream masquerading as skim milk.”
Dylan frowned. “Am I being insulted, here? Katy, there’s no law saying we have to go out there and make fools of ourselves trying to convince folks we’re a couple. If we told them we’d buried the tomahawk, they’d think we buried it in each other’s back.”
“Absolutely.” She nodded for emphasis. “This will never work, so it’s good we found out right away. No hard feelings.” She offered her hand.
“Naw.”
He took her hand in a grip she felt all the way to her shoulder, but she wouldn’t allow herself to flinch.
He added, “At least no more hard feelings than usual. Kind of a shame, actually.”
She knew she shouldn’t ask, but she did anyway. “What’s kind of a shame?”
“That a good-lookin’ woman like you can’t find some guy willing to tame you into something approaching a woman. Because—”
“Out of here!” Laura surged to her feet. “If you two want to go at it hammer and tongs, don’t do it in my kitchen!” She pointed toward the door with a quivering finger.
“Sorry.” Dylan jumped up. “We wouldn’t want to upset the pregnant lady. Thanks for a great meal, Laura. And thanks for trying.”
“Ditto.” Katy rose, too. “I’m sorry about all that. Old habits die hard, I guess.”
“Maybe, but they can die—if either of you really wanted that to happen.”
“I suppose. As he said, dinner was great and your intentions were even better.” Katy hesitated. “Sure I can’t help you with the dishes?”
“You run along.” Laura, equilibrium restored, smiled. “And think about how much easier life would be for all of us if you and Dylan could just get along.”
“I’ll do that,” Katy promised, adding a silent when hell freezes over.
She kept that state of mind all the way home to her little house on the edge of town. Complete with white picket fence, it was her pride and joy.
The phone was ringing when she unlocked the door. It was her mother, Liz, who lived in Denver with the rest of the Andrewses, including Katy’s “little” brothers: Mack, twenty-six, and Josh, twenty-seven; and her grandmother, Edna. Katy’s father had died nearly five years ago.
“What’s up, Ma?” she asked, tossing her shoulder bag on the sofa. “Everybody all right?”
“Everybody’s wonderful,” Liz said in her usual upbeat manner. “I’ve got some good news, Katy.”
“I can use some of that.”
“We’re having a family reunion October fourth. Everybody’s coming—Uncle Tom and the kids from Omaha, Aunt Gertrude and her family from Tulsa, all of ’em.”
“Sounds great,” Katy said cautiously. Not that she didn’t love her family, and the big reunions were always fun, but she sensed a hidden minefield here someplace. “I’ll bet Grandma’s excited.”
“Oh, she is! But…there’s this little problem….”
“Uh-oh.”
Liz’s tone changed, became cajoling. “Katy, you know how concerned your grandmother is that you’re not married, or even seeing anyone special. And with her health the way it is…well, I know you’ll understand.”
Katy’s heart stood still. “Understand what?”
“Why I’ve taken the liberty of getting you a date for the reunion, dear. He’s a very nice boy, a friend of your brothers’, and he’s really looking forward to meeting you. He’s a lawyer with one of the best firms in town and he—”
“Stop!” Katy’s mind raced. A friend of her brothers’? She’d rather die an old maid.
“But Katy, dear, your grandmother…”
“Grandma doesn’t have a thing to worry about,” Katy lied through her teeth, “because…” Say it! “Because…because I’ll have my own date, thank you very much. As a matter of fact, I have been seeing someone and—and it’s getting serious.”
So there!
The negotiating dinner at Laura’s had been even worse than Dylan expected and he hadn’t expected much. Disgusted, he decided to stop at the Painted Pony Saloon on his way home and have a beer with his buddies, some of whom were sure to be there.
Sure enough, he found a couple of friends holding up one end of the bar and joined them. He got his beer and kept his mouth shut except when he was drinking it.
Until one of the guys leaned over and whispered, “Guess who just walked in, good buddy?”
Dylan knew who it was by the cold chill that shot down his spine. Slowly he turned to find Brandee smiling and waving from the other side of the room, where she stood with a couple of other women he knew—single women eyeing the cowboys at the bar with interest.
He didn’t wave her over, but she came just the same, swinging her hips in tight jeans and grinning broadly.
“Hi, sugar.” Rising on tiptoe, she planted a firm kiss on his stiff lips. “Fancy meeting you here.”
“Yeah. Fancy that.”
“Wanna buy me a drink?”
“Love to, but I can’t stay to watch you drink it.” Draining his glass, he motioned to the bartender. “Bring the lady whatever she wants and then clear my tab,” he instructed.
Brandee frowned. “What’s the hurry?” she complained. “I hardly ever see you here.”
